Tyler

Shough

On the rarest of three-touchdown days for the Saints, Shough shockingly accounted for two of them with his legs. He tallied a 34-yarder with a read-option keeper in the third quarter and added a 13-yarder the following frame by absorbing a big hit at the goal line. Shough’s 13-yard TD was a true scramble, not a designed run. Those were by far his biggest plays on a day where he completed just 13 passes, but seemingly all of his completions came on big second-half third downs. Shough kept the chains moving, and the Saints kept the upset percolating. The Bucs still got the ball back with a chance to win, but, unlike Shough, Baker Mayfield couldn’t get the critical third- or fourth-down completion to keep the game going. Doing a little more of, well, everything than expected, Shough is making a bid to return for 2026 as starter, though we still would not consider that written in stone. He will need to have more positive days down the stretch. Week 15 opponent Carolina will be coming off bye, and has had some big defensive efforts of late, keeping Shough firmly outside the top 24 in fantasy.

Shough added 18 carries on six attempts and was sacked six times. He was also active on two-point conversion plays, for better and for worse. Shough punched in a two-pointer on the ground but also threw a pick-two (interceptions returned to the end zone on two-point conversions are worth two points) on his second try. Despite struggling to get much going during this game, Shough came on late, getting all 17 of his team’s points in the second half. He even had a chance to win the game with a deep shot to Olave with under a minute to go. Shough put the ball where it needed to be, but Olave dropped the pass, ultimately costing New Orleans the game. Shough will remain the starter for Week 14, but it’s not clear if he is even an upgrade over Spencer Rattler. Needless to say, Shough is not a great fantasy option for Week 14 versus Tampa Bay.

Shough and the Saints offense could not get much going against the Falcons defense. On the opening drive, Shough fumbled a botched handoff to Alvin Kamara, while the offense stalled in the red zone on the second drive after a long kick return. The Saints got inside the ten-yard line in the third quarter, but stalled for a turnover on downs. Shough and the Saints yet again found themselves in the red zone in the third quarter; Shough was tackled at the one-yard line on a run and the Saints yet again could not score. With Taysom Hill mixing in at quarterback in the red zone, the Saints failed to punch it in several times throughout the game. Shough ultimately ended this one with an interception as time wound down. He is a shallow passer, tallying 5.7 yards per attempt on the day and adding 22 rushing yards on seven carries. Shough will be a low-end QB2 heading into Week 13 against the Dolphins.

Shough hit Chris Olave for a 62-yard touchdown that gave the Saints the lead at the start of the second quarter and never looked back. The 26-year-old rookie quarterback had a more than passable performance in his second career start. After a Bryce Young interception in the fourth quarter, the Saints took over leading by three. Shough iced the game with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. In the Saints’ first game without Rashid Shaheed, Shough completed nine of his 19 passes to Olave and Johnson. The Saints have a bye in Week 11, but he’ll be in low-end QB2 territory for the rest of the season.

Saints head coach Kellen Moore puzzlingly seldom used play action against the Rams, instead opting for a shotgun-heavy approach. Shough’s bland outing is ironically highlighted by his strong connection with WR Rashid Shaheed, whom the organization is reportedly fielding trade offers for. Although Shough did throw an interception late while attempting to rally his losing team, he deserves credit for taking advantage of a roughing the passer call on Rams EDGE Byron Young, who sacked him via a helmet-to-helmet hit after juking RT Taliese Fuaga with ease. The 12-yard penalty brought the Saints down to the Rams’ 11-yard line, where Shough connected with TE Juwan Johnson on a curl route, who barreled through contact for a touchdown. Shough was later aggravatingly pulled in favor of Taysom Hill on 4th-and-2 from the Rams’ seven-yard line. Hill was stuffed for a two-yard loss on an obvious run, robbing Shough of a developmental crunch-time opportunity. Shough is a superflex low-end QB2 against the Panthers in Week 10.

Specifically, Moore said, “Tyler’s starting. We’re not looking back on that.” We won’t hold him to it if Shough’s play drops below his expectedly low bar, but letting the 26-year-old rookie audition for the starting role from here on out makes sense. Shough does not belong in single-quarterback lineups at this time.

Saints head coach Kellen Moore made the QB switch official on Tuesday, two days after he benched Spencer Rattler in favor of Shough, who was selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Shough last week against the Bucs completed 17 of his 30 attempts 128 yards and one interception. He was the most inaccurate quarterback of Week 8 and had a far lower QB rating than Rattler. Shough starting for the Saints makes the Rams defense an elite fantasy play in Week 9. Chris Olave and the rest of the team’s pass catchers get a significant downgrade with Rattler’s benching. Rattler will likely be back under center in the coming weeks.

Moore pulled Spencer Rattler after a disastrous first half in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers and replaced him with rookie Tyler Shough. Shough didn’t fare much better in the 23-3 defeat, but speaking on Monday, Moore said the offensive failures were on the whole unit and not just Rattler. Perhaps he’ll consider going back to Rattler again despite his struggles all season, but we’ve seen coaches downplay a QB change early on only to inevitably show their hand later in the week. It would not be at all surprising if Shough was under center in Week 9.

The Saints’ rookie quarterback entered the game on the second drive after halftime. Aside from a missed connection down the right sideline, Shough seemingly favored the short-to-intermediate field depths as a passer. Although Shough did look spry as a scrambler, he remained patient under pressure and kept his eyes downfield rather than simply tucking and running the moment he felt the heat. The rookie quarterback will be difficult to trust as a QB2 against the Rams next week if head coach Kellen Moore sticks with him as the starter.

Rattler was also sacked three times for 19 yards, which was the running theme for the former starter in this one. The Buccaneers’ pass rush haunted Rattler from the jump, keyed by a standout showing from fill-in starter Anthony Nelson. On the opening drive, Rattler was hit low, on a scramble, before Nelson jumped onto his back and punched the ball out with an arching hammer fist strike, which Buccaneers defenders successfully recovered. The Saints began their third drive from their own one-yard line. On the second play, Rattler threw a poorly aimed pass at TE Payne Durham, which Nelson successfully batted and caught, before waltzing into the end zone for a pick-six. Rattler’s time as the Saints’ 2025 starter appears to be over.